


Trust Fall

by Ceciliavonjoy, Snozzlefrog



Category: Sonic Boom (Cartoon), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Injury, Leg Sprain, Sad-ow, Screw that everyone's a jerk, Sonic's a jerk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-28
Updated: 2017-07-27
Packaged: 2018-11-20 09:00:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11332593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ceciliavonjoy/pseuds/Ceciliavonjoy, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snozzlefrog/pseuds/Snozzlefrog
Summary: Shadow doesn't want a team like that idiot Sonic; he doesn't need anyone. But he ends up injured. Will he be able to stop being a prideful grump long enough to let someone help him? ((Under new management!))





	1. Canyon

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter was written by @Ceciliavonjoy!

Shadow stared down the canyon that shared his name. The summer sun beat down, relentless; a craggy stone overhang was the only thing protecting the hedgehog from it. Without it, his dark fur near guaranteed overheating. The air was hot and dry, his every breath silently seeking respite and finding none. Even the cave he secluded himself in as home, far from noise and Eggman's pollution, wasn't deep enough to ward off the heat.

Despite that, he welcomed it, if with grumbling. No one would go through handling the heat to bother him. It allowed him to practice his skills as he pleased without interruption. Become stronger than he already was.

The black hedgehog leapt into the ravine. He landed on the other side and pumped his legs to jump again, faster. He cursed when he stumbled and demanded more. The smoothest of landings hardly satisfied him.

His progress neared the end of the canyon's windings. Here the walls separated so far, even he couldn't jump across them. They expanded into a flat clearing of sorts, land that had cracked and dried eons ago. This clearing ended at a towering ivory gate to an ancient city familiar to him.

The hedgehog paused on an exposed shelf. Hot as hell. Shadow panted and wiped at his brow. He could usually get here and back without exerting himself too hard. The heat shouldn't stop him from-

The wall rumbled overhead. Rocks tumbled down the cliff side, bearing down on him.

The hedgehog darted back to a lower outcrop in the rock wall. The boulders thudded into the shelf he had just left, stones tumbling past to the ravine floor.

Harsh grinding emitted from the wall behind him. He hopped farther, higher this time, and whipped back his head to see. An enormous red drill whirred its way back through the hole it had made in his canyon. It retracted too early for him to react by demolishing it.

Shadow glanced again at the factory at the top and growled. That pathetic old Egg, going out of the way to be his problem today.

The rock shuddered under his feet, making him stumble before regaining his footing. The vibrations came from-

He leapt forwards and the drill burst through where he had just been. It could aim. The drill retreated, causing more tremors in its wake.

It kept coming from behind him…Head back so it'll overshoot. He jumped up to an outcrop the way he came.

The vibrations-!

Shadow dropped to a ball and the drill punched through the rock above his head. Stones pelted his head and back. He snapped his eyes shut at the dust and clapped at his ears. The roaring was so loud above his head his bones reverberated. The whirling spikes left no room to move out of the way.

The shelf shifted and cracked away below his feet. The roaring of the drill faded as Shadow fell. He spun to drag at the air whistling around him and stinging the scratches on his back. Nothing is out far enough to catch him. Have to settle for the bottom.

Shadow twisted around to maneuver his feet back underneath him. He hit the ground and pain ripped through his left leg.

He fell gasping. Shadow pushed his torso up and turned back his head to examine it. In the back of his mind, he knew it was pointless to see how his shin bent at a strange angle. The pain was enough to tell him it had fractured.

Great. Wonderful. Broken leg. Bottom of a ravine. Had no food or water. Nobody was fool enough to pass through here, not now. Not that he needed- he was-…

He shook his head to clear it. It didn’t help much. Pain and heat blurred his thoughts.

Terrible odds. He groaned beneath their weight but did not let himself lie down. Giving up was not allowed. Deal with this as he had everything else. He could crawl the distance to the ancient city gate and find shade.

First thing, he had to set the leg. Have to remember how to do it. Last time was years ago, a mere child with a broken arm from some accident. Somebody else had set it- old friend. Maria.

Shadow shook his head to clear the aching memory. No revisiting that now. She was long gone. He had been self-sufficient too long to want to stop it now.

Enough. This was going to hurt. He rolled over to a sitting position, gritting his teeth at every screaming protest of his leg. Shadow dragged himself backwards with his hands and leaned against the canyon's mouth. There. Passing out wouldn't crack his head on top of everything else.

He wiped his brow and gripped his shin. Just pushing it into place was not enough-... The hedgehog braced himself, tense in every muscle, and yanked.

A snap into place and an anguished cry shot out and faded off, short-lived. Shadow fell back into the wall and slid unconscious to the rocky ground.


	2. Blue and Chill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by @Ceciliavonjoy

A blue blur shot through a course of tangled foliage and yellowed crumbled pillars. His course danced around the more recent but equally ruined robot factory. Nothing could be heard there but the frenetic tapping of feet. A strip of white tape on one arm not quite fastened flapped in the wind.

He was in a rare state: alone. The old instinct came out still, demanding that he exert his speed without reason. Slowing down enough to let his friends keep up, and Eggman distracting him with a killer robot (for the third time that week), kept him from it. If these fell away, the itch came back, and Sonic just ran.

Man, it felt great to stretch his legs and be out. Relaxing, even in this boiling heat. At least, for him it was. Tails dealt with it by building what he called Cool-Bots out of a junked fridge and broken fans. The last he saw of Amy and Sticks, they were lounging inside, chatting to keep their mind off the heat. Knuckles - Sonic laughed to think of it - Knuckles dug a deep hole and sat in it. Then invited everybody else to share the hole with him.

Sonic had hopped in the hole out of boredom. It was less hot down there, kudos to Knuckles, but it was too cramped for his liking. Running with the wind in his quills and under the shade of the forest was so much better.

By now, he’d lost count of how many times he had circled the ruin. Now he wanted some competition. Sonic shifted gears down a notch for the turn and changed course. The plants in the ancient city he circuited ceased to shake in the wind. The lofty ivory gate blinked and he was through, only looking straight ahead.

Shadow Canyon. He snorted. How wacky of a coincidence was that? Sonic jumped through the usual platforms of the canyon. His feet did the thinking for where or how to jump or stop. How many landforms could there be that just so happened to have your name on it? It wasn’t as if he had run into Metal at, like, Metal Sonic Mountain.

The narrowing ravine echoed with laughter at his own joke. Metal Sonic Mountain. That would have been impossible to take seriously.

Sonic screeched to a halt. In a way, he’d gone backwards. The silver enerbeam slingshot to the junkyard stood at the start of the canyon. He paused and made a face. What was he doing again?

Oh, right. Mr. Serious. Sonic shielded his eyes and squinted down the ravine. Where was Shadow? All he had to do to draw the black hedgehog out was to arrive alone and run around, and he had. Just like last time.

Maybe something’s wrong?

He took a step back into the canyon but reconsidered. The guy hangs out by himself in a gorge. If even he had alone days, Shadow the lonerhog might take weeks or months for solitude. Though it had been weeks already…but then it could just be a bad day for racing.

Sonic blinked and realized how sweaty he was. Phew. He wiped his brow. The heat wasn’t so bad a reason.

That was probably it. Oh well, another time. Maybe he’d go running back home on the coast. Not in the water- not in the water, no way- but on the beach, misted by the cool ocean spray. That sounded real good right about now.

He ignored the enerbeam slingshot and leaned forward into a marathon-starting stance. There’s no fun in traveling if he doesn’t get to run.

This time Sonic accelerated into a spindash, whirling to the bottom first. He sprinted at the cooler ravine floor. The tapping of feet slowed as he went; even he got tired. The sun grew brighter upon him as the cliffs fell into the lower sides of the well-worn clearing. There was the gate! And glorious shade-

The blue hedgehog chanced to look aside and skidded to a stop.

He didn’t have to see the crumpled black figure up close to know who it was. He jogged towards that spot by the wall and slid to a kneeling stop. Shadow lay limp on his left side; his limbs sprawled outward on top of each other. In this heat and nothing to lean on but rock, no way he just fell asleep.

Sonic shifted his legs to sit and think. Had somebody gotten the drop on Shadow? Lyric had somehow, that one time. Thinking about it, how hadn't he noticed the mind-control thingy then? Or the roboty way Shadow was acting? In retrospect, it was obvious...

He doesn’t know. And, right now, it doesn’t matter. Should wake him up; see if he’s all right. And then he’d probably be yelled at for ‘disturbing his superior’, or whatever that thing was Shadow went on about. 

Sonic rolled his eyes. Whatever. So what if they weren't exactly friends. There was no way he'd just leave pretending he hadn't seen anything.

He gripped the black hedgehog's right shoulder and shook him.

An arm swung at him. Sonic jerked back to avoid it and caught himself by the fingertips. Shadow opened his eyes blearily.

"Mnn…" He blinked and twitched his head. And glowered on seeing who woke him. "You again?" Shadow growled, hoarse, annoyed.

Eh, so what else was new? Sonic leaned forwards to sit normal again. "Yyyep. Me again." He said, somewhere between also irritated but amused. "Man, we keep meeting like this." He fanned himself, but stopped since it didn't help much. "Did somebody else knock you out this time, or…?" He waved his hands around trying to come up with an 'or'.

Shadow pushed himself up from the ground and leaned against the wall, not answering. He ran one hand across his damp forehead. "What are you-" He grimaced and hissed at something midsentence. Sonic stretched up to look for it and started.

Shadow's left leg was swollen; mottled purple bruising only just visible under black fur. It looked like it hurt bad. How hadn't he seen that a second ago? "Oh, geez," Sonic began, a little startled, "Your leg looks awful."

The black hedgehog twitched his good leg inwards, as if to hide the injured one. "I'm dealing with it." If he was in pain, he did a good job sounding frustrated instead.

"Ok, but-" Sonic glanced down at the leg again, and winced in sympathy. "Eugh, I don't think it's supposed to bend that way."

"What do you care?" Shadow shot at him, bristling. "I've got it, leave me alone."

Well, no, he's not gonna do that. Sonic was silent for a moment. There were scorpions larger than his feet around here. Prickly-proud Shadow isn't a pitiable figure, sure. But anyone unable to move and left exposed to driller worms, robots, and this heat…

"Er. Busted legs suck." Sonic decided to say, as if forced to point out the obvious. Stopping to be choosy with words helped his patience. "And if you could stand," He couldn't help but quip, jabbing a finger at his rival, "you'd be long gone by now."

Shadow was silent, but his mouth twitched in a way that indicated grudging agreement. Or more pain. Both, probably.

That was good enough. Sonic hopped to his feet and snatched Shadow's arm. The black hedgehog barked in alarm at the sudden tug, his good foot scrambling to support him. Sonic stood up and slung Shadow's arm over his shoulder. The injured leg swung between the two. Shadow instinctively clung to Sonic to keep from falling.

"Alright, you admitted it," Sonic said. He shifted the other hedgehog's arm a bit. "Now let's go."

Shadow tore himself away, throwing Sonic off and falling away to latch onto the rock wall.

"Shadow, hey-!"

"I did not agree to anything!" He growled, "You, of all people, are not helping me."

The blue hedgehog just looked at him and shook his head. "Guhhh…" Veins of frustrations deepened his voice. "Do you have a problem with me, or do you just hate..." Sonic waggled his hands in midair, unable to pin down anything. "…uh." His shoulders fell, no longer tense. "Something?"

Ok that was lame. Shadow rolled his eyes and wasn't about to fill in the blank.

Definitely not enough to stop him. "Ok. I don't know what your deal is," He glanced down and pointed at the swelling on Shadow's leg. "But you are not getting anywhere on that, so c'mon."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes! I'll drag you there if I have to."

"Go away!"

For answer, Sonic grabbed his arm and yanked him off the wall again. "Nope, sorry." Shadow stumbled and had to grab on to the blue hedgehog again.

Sonic waited a second for more resistance just to be fair. On hearing nothing for once, he took the first steps of what was to be a long, slow walk to camp.


	3. This is humiliating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by @Ceciliavonjoy!

This is humiliating.

Shadow sullenly let Sonic lead him from the rock clearing to the forest surrounding the ruins. It would have been stupidity to keep resisting. Lying in the heat for who knows how long…his head spun, and his throat felt like more desert-like than the canyon. The bad leg pulsed in time with pain. Yes, agreeing to anyone's help was a risk his nerves screamed against taking.

But a broken leg was a disability he could not accept.

“We, uh, aren’t lost, by the way.” The blue hedgehog stopped them both and glanced around at a fork in the path. The hot sun shone down through gaps in the canopy. “This is…the scenic route.”

Now if only Sonic would shut up and quit rubbing it in.

“No wait, wait, wait, I know where we are!”

Clearly, silence is too much to hope for.

Sonic looked back and forth again, and then started to the right. “There’s a river this way.”

It took longer than Shadow liked for the movement to register and his working leg to follow suit out of the sun. He realized how much he was leaning on the other hedgehog. In their last match, had he not declared his own superiority? Hadn’t he derided Sonic for relying on others for help?

Shadow pulled away to carry more of his own weight. Sonic didn’t seem to notice and rambled something else about directions. Wherever they were going, they could not get there fast enough.

 

Sonic wasn't one to swear, but now he felt like doing it. From there it was supposed to be a straight shot, but a wrong turn or some other misstep of his made them wander around for what felt like an hour. He talked about anything but that, knowing how well (that is, not so well) Shadow would react to the waste of time. 

“There it is,” He sighed with relief on sighting the calm stream. Sonic didn't mind the walk, but he swore Shadow was more of a weight than before. He was dragging behind on his one good foot. Should have gotten here faster.

The shallow water rippled its way downstream. A green leaf flew up and down and fluttered a dance on the air. The blue hedgehog breathed deeply, tension melting. He’d done what he’d meant to do. No harm done he couldn’t mend.

“Here we are. Dunno if this river has a name or not.” He’d chattered the whole way like this out of nerves, trying to get across that nothing had gone wrong. “It probably should. You doin’ ok?”

“I’m fine,” Shadow said. He sounded tired and raspy. “Release me.”

Sonic let go of the black arm without reply, and Shadow lowered himself to sit parallel to the riverbank. He cupped water with one hand to lap it up.

Now that Sonic thought of it, he was thirsty too. The blue hedgehog dropped to the ground and stuck his muzzle in the water to slurp at it, keeping a firm grip on the bank.

A little while later Sonic sat up again wiping off his face, refreshed. He glanced aside at Shadow still drinking. Can only see his back and half of his grump face, but the guy looks better. Less like he’ll fall over.

The black hedgehog drank the last from his hand and flicked his wrist to fling the remaining droplets from his glove. He twisted his torso back to face Sonic, looked at him as a detective might to a criminal under the lamps. “You." His voice was back to normal, clear as a bell. "What is it you want?”

“Uh?” Sonic pointed at himself in a ‘You mean me?’ kind of gesture, and glanced aside at the scenery to think of an answer. “To get moving again, I guess.” His feet waggled. “Or a chilidog...” he added absently, “I’m a bit hungry.”

Shadow rolled his eyes. “No, you idiot. What are you expecting out of me?” He jabbed a finger at Sonic and then himself. “For...helping me.” The last few words caught in his throat.

“Oh, that?” Sonic shrugged. “Nothin’.” People often ended up injured from Eggman’s antics. He couldn't even count how many he and his friends brought to the hospital that month. Besides it happening to the rudehog somehow, this wasn't any different. “S’what anyone would do.”

“Hmph.” He made that noise a lot. Shadow the hmphhog. His lip curled back in derision. “I don’t believe you. Nobody does a thing like this without expecting something out of it.”

Huh. Maybe there’s a little more to him than the stick up his butt. “Well, unless you’re offering, here’s your exception.” He hopped to his feet and zipped to Shadow’s side. Turning backwards like that looked uncomfortable. “You good to keep going now?”

Shadow twitched and bristled at the sudden movement. His head jerked around to face Sonic’s new position. “No. Not until you tell me what you’re trying to gain from this.”

“I just said-” Sonic rolled his eyes and shook his head. “I told you, nothing.” He repeated, firmer than before, “What would I even ask for? I only know you cuz we fight.”

The black hedgehog glanced down and back up. “…Point taken. Fine, I’ll go.” He moved back his right leg and shifted his weight on it. Shadow raised a fist to the blue hedgehog and uncurled its fingers. “I still won’t join your little group.”

Could almost taste the condescension. Sheesh.

No, wait. This time he was letting Sonic lead him willingly. Or at least now, he hated it less. A couple new ideas shuffled around in the back of the blue hedgehog’s brain.

“Eh, I know you won’t.” Sonic took the other hedgehog’s tense hand and pulled it over his shoulder again. Shadow pushed up on his right leg with a pained grunt.

 

The blue hedgehog breathed a quick sorry, and they headed forth again in silence.


	4. Arguments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! First one I've written! Sorry it's so short - I'm kinda warming up.

“Three hours.”

Look, Shadow appreciated Sonic’s help, he really did. As much as he would never admit it, he wouldn't have gotten far if Sonic hadn't picked him up. But still, considering the only person he was with was hopelessly lost, he was glad he had a will.   
“We have been walking down this goddamn river for three hours,” he repeated, adding in a tone of disgust. “I'm fairly sure I can't hop around for much longer, bucko.”

The blue hedgehog turned to him for a moment, before bumping his arm up a little and grinning. “It'll be fine! The village can't be far.” He turned towards his companion, raising an eyebrow. “And did you just call me ‘bucko’?”

“What?”

“Is bucko even a word?”

“Shut up.”

“What does it-”

“No.”

“Is that affectio-”

“Be quiet before I rip out your spine.”

That seemed to stop him. Shadow was on edge now, slowly realising Sonic would never figure out the way. Yes, the river should lead to the village in theory, but this clearly wasn't the case. “Don't you have, I don't know, a flare or something?”  
“When were you born, the ‘50s?”

For a moment he had to will himself not to maul Sonic's face off. 

Shadow rolled his eyes, adjusting himself and stopping. “We’re going nowhere. We need a new angle,” he groaned. 

“‘Whatever you say, you grandpa-”

“I suggest we see if we can find some upper ground. We might see the village.”  
It was Sonic’s turn to roll his eyes, before knocking him over to the nearest tree.   
“Fine. Give me a minute.” He rocked back on his feet, like a loaded spring, and disappeared into the foliage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What tells you this isn't going to take a minute?


	5. The worst

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Procrastination, 101

The hedgehog’s feet slammed against the ground, rhythmically kicking up clouds of dust, pushing him between dense greenery. It was the feeling of flight, of grace and freedom, stretching out and letting loose. And after half a day of carrying grumpy around? It was the best feeling in the world. 

Better yet, a light sprinkling of rain had begun, cooling him down and making the ground soft and springy. The water flew between his quills, making rivers in his fur. His neckerchief stuck to his chest, weighed down by the chilly water. 

These moments of speed, where time slows to a halt give him time to think and figure out what he's doing. Rundown? Gone for a quick jog, ended up disappearing for hours, and picked up his injured-and-super-pissed rival. Amy’s gonna love this story. 

Sonic thinks back to Shadow, further downhill. Some of the things he says are… peculiar at best. And why would he ever question help? Yeah, they have the whole rival thing going on, but Shadow was hurt - and he helped. It's natural. He helps Eggman, right? What's so foreign about the concept to Shadow?

This should probably all be a big mass of general concern for him, but it doesn't matter. He's at the top of the hill now. 

“Village… here village, village…”

It takes a second, but it looks like the old sod was right. The beach was only a bit left of the path they were taking, so he was right too. Hip-hip-hooray! “Hey faker!” he shouted down. “Guess what I-”

CRASH!

“-found.”

A bolt of white hot lightning had struck in front of him, scolding the ground in front of him. He'd been to distracted to notice the pitter-patter of rain turn into a full-on storm. And the great thing? He left Limpy McInjured unable to walk in a clump of trees.

“Hang on S - FIREFIREFIRE - Shadow!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pinky promise no one will DIE
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> just get electrocuted


	6. It got worse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Have you ever been stuck in the middle of the forest unable to walk in the beginning of a lightning storm? Yeah, Shadow really didn't believe that kind of stuff happens. 

Sonic was only gone for a second, and it began to rain like the sky was falling. And now he was left by Speedy McStupid unable to walk in a cluster of trees. The best he could do was hop away from the trunks, but if the wood got hit he'd be electrocuted anyway. 

“Hello? Dumbass?!”  
Nah. Calling for help was just a little too wimpy. How didn't he notice the world around him? It was like he bled in from another universe. 

Questions aside, he heard a crash at the top of the hill and some faint shouting. Apparently it takes a near death experience to get Sonic’s attention - not surprising, considering his line of work. 

Shadow attempted to balance on one leg to spot the blue idiot; sure enough, he was speeding down faster than he’d gone up. He waved to be sure, but it was certain that the blur was heading for him. Hopefully in one piece. 

He crawled a bit closer, but gloved hands soon met his shoulders, shaking him. 

“VILLAGE! LEFT! GO!” Sonic gasped, mostly coeherent. “TREES! LIGHTNING! YOU? AHRG!”  
Frustrated, he grabbed Shadow by the waist and flung him over his shoulder. 

Sonic spiralled through the flashes of light, dodging varying crashes and bangs. Shame he couldn't dodge the angry thrashing on his back.  
“What! Do! You! Think! You're! Doing!”  
He kicked at him in time with his words, hitting his shoulders. 

“Saving! Your! Butt!” Sonic mimicked Shadow’s staggered speech. 

It took more concentration to run than you'd think. Make a left, a right, no, another left, very important to have directions. Sadly, due to a mix of the flailing mess in his arms and the death-beams shooting from the sky, the blue hedgehog was beginning to forget which way was which. Is it straight on here? Oh, a left, probably a right? Is this- “STOP!”

Shadow’s warning had made Sonic aware of a very painful fact he didn't notice. Half the forest had fallen into fire, trapping them in the trees, right in the eye of the storm. 

Oh no.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who fancies cutting to the chase? I do.


End file.
